Chapter 5
Over the next few months, Aconite flourished under the care of Charlie and Alastor. Charlie took to being Aconite's mother like a duck to water. Charie did not try to replace Aconite's birth mother by any stretch of the imagination; in fact, she was currently trying to find out just who little Aconite's parents were. All anyone knew about them at the moment was that Aconite's mother was Alastor's granddaughter and the sister to Petunia Dursley.
Charlie had little regret or guilt about telling Alastor in detail what she had seen in that house the day Aconite had called for help. That the Wendigo's antlers had become sharp, gnarled things that were larger than she had ever seen, and his smile malicious in a way that promised a great deal of suffering upon his other granddaughter, loath as Alastor was to admit that the child harming harlot, Alastor's words, not Charlie's, was his blood.
There were no records of Aconite's mother, Lillian 'Lily' Potter nee Evans, or her husband, James Potter, in Hell, which suggested that they may be in heaven. Charlie had doubts about this, however...because as much as she loved sunshine and rainbows, Charlie had to admit that Lily had cast blood protections, and no matter the intention, she doubted Heaven would be as forgiving over that particular detail.
Alastor quietly shared her sentiments on the matter when Charlie had brought it up to him one night. Charlie still held hope, of course, but she was also being honest with herself.
If she couldn't find any trace of Aconite's parents in Hell, she would ask her father to reach out to Heaven. Emily, she knew, would be more than willing to look into the matter.
But Charlie really didn't want to bring Aconite to Heaven's attention. She was unsure if Aconite's status as a still-living soul would protect her from the Extermination Day and wasn't willing to find out. On the next Extermination day, Lucifer was taking Aconite to the palace for lock-down.
At the moment, Aconite was practicing her letters at the table in the lobby, with Alastor watching over her. Alastor had surprised Charlie a bit; he never acted explicitly parental towards Aconite, but he was a good mentor. Patient in ways she hadn't counted on. Aconite was a bright child now that she was encouraged to excel in her academics, she picked up on things quickly.
She was wearing another baby doll dress, black with red trim, and her hair was in a long braid with a red bow tying it off.
Aconite looked cute in the older style clothing, less like a doll being dressed up and more like a picture come to live like Alastor.
Charlie was proud of her as she quickly started catching up and surpassing her age group, and Aconite had expressed a love of music. Her voice was a little squeaky, but in time, Charlie knew her voice would be beautiful.
Aconite finished her worksheet, handing it to Alastor, who read over it and marked it with corrections before handing it back to her.
"Very good my deer, why I do believe I now have a promise to keep." Alastor praised, referring to a little wager between himself and Aconite. Charlie hadn't liked the idea, but Alastor explained it was to build Aconite's confidence. If she got more than 40% of her assignments today correct, then Alastor would take her to visit Rosie in Cannibal Town for a treat.
Aconite smiled wide, her little fangs sparkling in the light as her gaze whipped to Charlie, who had the final say on trips. Charlie walked over to look at the worksheets, picking them up and smiling. 50% in math, 50% in science, and 70% on her spelling, on worksheets tailored for a third grader.
"Alright, you can go and enjoy Cannibal Town," Charlie said, patting Aconite on the head as she squealed and ran up to her room to get her coin purse. Alastor and Charlie gave her an allowance for doing good on her worksheets.
"She's doing good," Charlie said, turning to Alastor who nodded.
"Such a shame that those fools tried to extinguish such a bright mind. No matter." Alastor responded as he stood up, clasping the top of his mic with both hands.
"Just be careful, Alastor; I know you can protect her...it's just...well." Charlie trailed off as Alastor gave her a grin.
"Don't worry, my deer; nothing will happen. Aconite has shown great progress with shadow manipulation. She can already form minions with shadows." Alastor commented to her surprise.
"She can? I didn't know you had started teaching her shadow manipulation."
"I hadn't planned on it, I admit. But Aconite is a natural at it. My shadow was watching over her a few days ago while I handled a little tiff outside. I wasn't away for more than a couple of minutes, but by the time I returned, Aconite had formed a small bird from shadows. She was pouting because she wanted to make a cat. It seems that the bird she created is her first shadow."
Alastor explained, and suddenly, the little shadow Charlie had spotted darting around the hotel made sense. She'd thought it was one of Alastor's. Clearly, she was mistaken.
"First shadow? Shouldn't it have been her physical shadow then?"
"No, separating your own shadow from yourself through shadow manipulation is an advanced technique. It will be quite some time before she's able to pull such a thing off." Alastor corrected with a shake of his head as Aconite returned, her little purse in hand.
"Alastor, may we stop by the treat shop while in Cannibal Town after we visit Aunty Rosie?" Aconite asked as she stood beside him.
"I don't see why not, we can also stop by the butcher's shop and pick up some hearts if you want as well," Alastor answered as they said their goodbyes to Charlie and left the hotel. Alastor placed a hand on Aconite's shoulder and warped them through the shadows just as they exited the hotel. Aconite may be ready for Cannibal Town, who all loved the little fawn as much as their Overlord, but Aconite was still a secret to the rest of Hell.
Only Angel Dust, Husk, Niffty, Charlie, Lucifer, Vaggie, and Alastor knew about her aside from the cannibals.
Appearing inside of Rosie's Emporium just inside the doors Aconite's eyes sparkled as she looked around the store.
"Is that my adorable little niece I see!" Came the voice of Rosie from further within the store, the Overlord stepping out from behind the counter as the cannibals cleared the way for her, everyone smiling at seeing their favorite little fawn as she skipped to meet Rosie, the two hugging.
"Aunty Rosie! Mister Alastor said I did very well on my worksheets and earned a treat!"
"Well then, it seems that my surprise for you came just in time!" Rosie responded as she stood up straight, taking Aconite's hand and walking over to her sitting area.
"Surprise?"
"Oh yes, give me a second. Would you like a lolly?" Rosie asked, offering a bright red lollypop with chunks of heart meat in the shape of a heart to Aconite, who looked to Alastor for permission, which he gave with a short nod.
"Thank you, Aunty Rosie!" Aconite accepted the treat with glee, popping the treat into her mouth with a hum as the rich taste of blood filled her mouth, a blood pop then.
"It's my pleasure, Alastor. You've been teaching her some manners!" Rosie teased her friend who chuckled.
"I'm afraid that I have taught her very little in that regard; Aconite has been such a polite little fawn since she came into my care." Alastor denied, his radio static fading for a moment as he sat in a chair beside Aconite as Rosie found what she was looking for. A red box with a big crimson bow on it.
"Here we are! Oh, I hope you like it!" Rosie cooed as she handed the present to Aconite, who carefully untied the bow. Inside was a sunhat like Rosies, with a snake skeleton wrapped around the brim with a small deer jawbone tucked into the coils along with two green feathers and a few black roses. Aconite gasped in awe, her eyes wide as she wiped her hands clean of the lolly on a napkin before reverently picking up the hat. It was the perfect size for Acontie and was black with a fading green ombre to match Aconite's eyes.
"I love it!" Aconite exclaimed happily. She had mentioned how much she liked Rosie's hat only once.
"There is more; look inside the box." Rosie smiled knowingly. She may have been just a little cheeky in the other half of this present. Aconite gently handed the hat to Alastor who was smiling fondly at her joy and looked inside the box.
Aconite reached inside and pulled up a dress, a little squeal leaving her as she snapped her eyes to Rosie, who nodded. Rosie had the tailor of Cannibal Town make a child-sized version of her own dress, matching the hat with Aconite's colors of black and green.
"May I try it on?!" Aconite asked, her eyes pleading as the two adults nodded.
"If you need help with putting it on, let me know. The dressing room is right over there, and you can put your current dress in the box if you'd like to wear your new one at home." Rosie said, guiding Aconite to the dressing room.
"Thank you!" Aconite said as she disappeared into the dressing room while Rosie returned to sitting with Alastor.
"Making a claim, old friend?" Alastor said with a smile, knowing that by giving Aconite the dress, Rosie was declaring the child as one of hers.
"As much as we all would love for Aconite to remain a secret until she can protect herself, that may not be possible with the way the Vees are making a fuss. They seem to be in a tiff." Rosie frowned, pouring a cup of tea for herself and Aconite while pouring a cup of coffee for Alastor.
"I see, and just what are they up to now?"
"I'm not too sure just yet, but I assure you that I am keeping a very close eye on the situation," Rosie said with a shake of her head as Aconite came back from the dressing room with her baby doll dress carefully folded in her arms.
Rosie clapped her hands together with a smile at seeing that the dress fit Aconite perfectly, motioning for her to give a little twirl which she did, her new dress fanning out just slightly to reveal the shimmering green at the hem.
"I love it, Aunty! Thank you!"
"It was my pleasure, darling; you look so cute!" Rosie cooed before an older, raspy voice made a commotion outside, Rosie and Alastor both frowning and groaning in unison.
"Ugh, Susan." the pair intoned together, Alastor's ears pinning back briefly, causing Aconite to tilt her head cutely, her ears perking up.
"Susan?" Aconite questioned innocently, she rarely saw Alastor move his ears. He was working on teaching her to control her ears, as they could ruin the effect a smile had at hiding what they were truly thinking in a moment.
"Susan is one of the older residents of Cannibal Town darling, and she can be...difficult, at times. Don't you worry about it, I'll go see what's wrong. You enjoy your day, sweetie!" Rosie explained before standing and going to investigate. Why did Susan have to interrupt during tea time?
Aconite watched her aunt leave with focus before Alastor drew her attention.
"Why don't we head to the butcher shop and then the sweet shop, my deer." Alastor suggested as he stood, placing Aconite's new hat on her head and snapping his fingers so that the bow at the end of her braid changed from red to green so as not to clash with her new outfit.
"Okay?" Aconite said as they made their way to the exit. Aconite heard the way this Susan, an older woman with a blue fox skin thrown over her shoulders, a purple dress, a cane, and a long cigarette pipe, was shouting at a cashier.
Normally Aconite would never do what she was about to do, which was to leave Alastor's side for even a moment, but this was Rosie's Emporium, and she felt quite safe here.
Walking over unnoticed by everyone but Alastor, who was indulging her as this was a first, she made her way over to Susan and quietly gained the old woman's attention.
"Ma'am?"
The store went silent as Susan's gaze looked around before looking down to see the small child dressed like Rosie. Alastor was watching with menace from his place by the door, if Susan hurt her, no one would stop him from broadcasting the old bitch's screams in his broadcasts.
Susan may be a bitch to adults and even children at times, but this little darling looked up at her so sweetly; she just didn't have the heart at the moment.
"Why hello sweetie, are you lost?" Susan asked, and Aconite shook her head and held out her hand as Rosie spotted the oncoming trainwreck, hands over her mouth in horror. Aconite opened her tiny palm like she was holding something out to Susan.
"I'm sorry to distrub you ma'am, but i think you dropped this," Aconite said kindly to Susan's confusion and Rosie stopped in her rush to interfere, everyone watching with baited breathe.
"You're hands empty, sweetie," Susan said, making an effort not to sound like she thought the child stupid.
"It's your manners! You must have dropped them a long time ago to not recognize them!" Aconite chirped, gently taking Susan's hand and pressing their palms together like she was returning Susan's manners.
"Be sure not to lose them again!" Aconite scolded seriously before skipping off to join Alastor, who was desperately trying not to laugh at the perplexed look on Susan's face. Rosie was just as hysteric; she had never in all her years seen Susan so off-kilter as the mentor and student left the store.
"Alastor, can I get a meat lover's Sunday?" Aconite's voice faded as the door shut, but not before they heard Alastor's "Absolutely my deer!"
Susan stood in the middle of the Emporium, staring at her hand, before saying, "Did I just get called rude by a toddler?"